Character Guide: Paul Regret

Character Name: Paul Regret

Inspired by: Paul Regret, a gambler in the John Wayne film, The Comancheros

Life Points: 3

Ability Type: Defensive

Ability: "he is considered to have a Mustang in play at all times; all other players must add 1 to the distance to him. If he has another real Mustang in play, he can count both of them, increasing all distances to him by a total of 2."

Activation: Continuous, but surmountable

Cards enhanced by Paul Regret's ability: Mustang, blue cards

Cards less effective when played against Paul Regret: Panic, Volcanic

Cards more effective when played against Paul Regret: Duel, Indians!, Gatling

Ideal Roles for Paul Regret: Sheriff, Renegade

Characters who counter Paul Regret well: Rose Doolan, Willy the Kid

2-player value: Great if you can remove your opponent's gun.

General Strategy: Paul Regret's main benefit is his distance, and this can work especially well early game, even if Paul Regret's turn begins towards the end of the round, as few characters will be able to reach you. Paul Regret's distance ability makes most blue cards (obviously not Prison or Dynamite) more useful for him, as they are not likely to get stolen (there is only 1 scope, and what is the chance the persons right next to you will get it?). Paul Regret only has to worry about those 3 Cat Balous. Try to get a Mustang out to stack with Paul Regret's ability, and other defensive cards like Barrels are good ideas too. You may wish to get a gun to shoot over those who are right next to you, so as to not make enemies with your immediate neighbors who will be more able to attack you. In general, the whole purpose with Paul Regret is distance control: shoot at those who cannot shoot you, and make as many people unable to reach you as possible. Paul Regret's opponents will likely use a Duel to reach him, and in this case I often recommend taking the hit, since his card limit is lower, making Paul Regret have fewer BANG!, and thus more likely to get slammed by an Indians! before he gets to have another turn. But you can always gauge the cards in your opponents' hands and make the best judgment here.

Playing against Paul Regret: Since Paul Regret only has 3 life points, a lot of cards that hit all other players (Gatling, Indians!) are really effective against him, since Paul Regret's card limit is lower. Duels are also more effective against Paul Regret, as he is less likely to have a lot of BANG! cards. If you can do so, hitting Paul Regret with Duel-Indians!-Bang! (or similar) combos is the way to go. To help you reach Paul Regret, try to grab guns or a scope. Since panics won't be very effective against Paul Regret, use Cat Balous instead, especially if Paul Regret has a Mustang (making him terribly difficult to reach). If Paul Regret is your main target, consider even storing up a Cat Balou for when that Mustang will pop out. If you are having a really hard time getting Paul Regret, a Dynamite (which is always more fatal for 3 life point characters), can be a good idea to throw out.

Dodge City cards enhanced by Paul Regret's ability: Hideout, the extra Mustang.

Dodge City cards more effective when played against Paul Regret: Howitzer, Buffalo Rifle, Springfield.

Dodge City cards less effective when played against Paul Regret: Derringer, Punch, Knife

Dodge City Characters that Counter Paul Regret Well: Belle Star (Paul Regret cannot increase his distance further from her), Pat Brennan (he can immediately steal a gun, scope or binoculars to reach Paul Regret to shoot/steal from him, as well as remove Paul Regret's distance modifiers like Mustang and Hideout).

General Strategy Adjustments: Paul Regret does not scale well for Dodge City. Many players online have debated about increasing Paul Regret's life points up to 4 to compensate, but Emiliano Sciarra says that the adjustments only place him to about 3.5 life points. But since there is no half a life point, and the powers that be round down, he has stayed at 3 life points. It is often difficult to balance the 3 life point characters, because the main issue with raising them to 4 life points is how powerful they will be as a 5 life point Sheriff. Often, it is decided that they should remain a 3 life point character, but then they only tend to be decent as a Sheriff. I guess the hope is that in the other roles team mates will help them (sorry Renegades!).

Anyway, Paul Regret has trouble in Dodge City due to producing difficulties in managing distance between players. Dodge City adds a distance 3 Remington, a distance 4 Rev. Carabine, and a Binoculars (which stacks with a Scope) to the deck. Heavy to manage against a Scope and a Binoculars will be particularly difficult. There is, on the flip side, another Mustang and a Hideout (which stacks with a Mustang) to bring some distance away. But more Cat Balou, the Can Can, and Brawl have been added to the deck to remove players. The new Rag Time steals a card from any player at any distance, so Paul Regret is not as panic-immune as before. Unfortunately, there are also cards that attack at any range added to the deck, which are deadly for Paul Regret, namely Springfield, Buffalo Rifle, Howitzer, and of course more Indians! Since these cards are not BANG!, they can be combined with BANG! and others (Duel, Gatling) to hit Paul Regret several times in one turn. Finally, there is another frustrating Dynamite added to the deck.

Of course, things are not all bad for Paul Regret with Dodge City. Some new cards he is generally immune to, such as the Knife, Punch, and Derringer which all only reach at distance 1. Unfortunately, this just does not balance things out. Paul Regret should still try to follow the strategy generally outlined above, trying to steer himself as best as possible with these new cards. He now will definitely want to try to grab some defensive green cards to get in play in front of him before jumping to the offensive. And stacking his Mustang with a Hideout would be fantastic if it is possible.

General Strategy Against Adjustments: Dodge City turns things in your favor for eliminating Paul Regret. Supplied with more guns, a Binoculars, several cards that reach at any distance (Springfield, Buffalo Rifle, Howitzer, more Indians!), and another Dynamite, you have even more ammo than before to hit Paul Regret. Probably even more importantly, you can combine those cards to hit Paul Regret several times in a turn, and your team mates (if you have any) should have a greater ability to help you out. Use the new Rag Time, Can Can, and Brawl to remove cards from in play in front of Paul Regret, especially to remove his distance modifiers. If he has none of those, and no defensive green cards in play in front of him, use those cards and Cat Balou to remove cards from his hand before you and your allies attack him. A good combo or tag team could knock him out in 1-2 rounds. Of course, this is wishful thinking where the stars align for your good. Paul Regret is still a threat in Dodge City, it is just that if you pay close attention you should have greater opportunities to eliminate him than before.

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